


Focus

by silkiemae



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Doctor Who Feels, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2019-10-26 18:32:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17751248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silkiemae/pseuds/silkiemae
Summary: I've dreamed of the Doctor all my life; ever since I was a little girl.I know all his faces. I know all his stories. But none of my own. I know that one day he and I will meet and when we do we'll have many wonderful adventures... In the end though, something terrible will happen, something that I won't be able to prevent unless I refuse to go with him.I know my dreams are real, but sometimes I wish they were just dreams.





	1. Lina Anderson, the Girl Who Dreamed

Lina Anderson opened her eyes to a burnt orange ceiling and a spinning fan. She glanced around the room, seeing the old movie posters plastered in various open spaces and then the floor covered with discarded clothing and books. She closed her eyes once more hoping against hope that the face would still be imprinted against her lids. But as she shut her eyes she saw not the face she had been dreaming of once more, but just black.  
  
She sighed, wishing she could fall asleep but when it came to her sleep it was a stop and go type of thing. Once she was awake, no matter what the time, she couldn’t fall asleep. It worked the opposite way as well, however, when she was asleep it’s like she couldn’t wake up until the story was over.  
  
Ever since Lina was a little girl and she could clearly remember her dreams, she had dreamed of one man and one man only. A man who could change his face, and a man who constantly saved the world; his name was The Doctor. For so long she thought it was just some imaginary friend she had dreamed up but even her own mind couldn’t concoct such elaborate details about someone she had just thought up. The Doctor was very real. This she knew.  
  
She finally forced herself to get out of bed and to make her way into the real world. It was one of her few days off from The Grill, some burger joint she’d been employed with for the past six months, and she planned to spend it wisely. This meant she’d sit in front of the big lake in the center of town and read a book, or perhaps watch the ducks. Lina didn’t have much when it came to friends considering her mind was always too wrapped up in The Doctor—she was always much too focused on her imaginary friend to keep a real, physical one.  
  
Constant sessions in therapists’ offices had taught her to keep quiet about him in front of her family, and therefore she never brought him up around any friends she might acquire. But sleep was something Lina found she had to do, otherwise she might never see him—so instead of going out…she stayed in, and slept.  
  
It was this day, however, this warm Sunday afternoon that everything she dreamed about would become more than just a dream. Her dreams would become reality and she would have to make a choice she knew she couldn’t make.  
  
Lina had just looked up from her book when she caught sight of a frantic man sprinting across the park. There was nothing distinguishing about him when he was moving that fast, though he was clearly in a suit and suspenders…and there was something bright and red wrapped around his neck. It was then that she realized he was heading right for her and she barely had time to lift her legs before he was running right over where they would’ve been sprawled out. As the man passed her she could’ve sworn she heard him shout out, “Sorry!” before continuing off.  
  
Something about that voice was what set her off—something about the way he ran like a seven year old and like his life depended on it prompted her to stand and follow after him. He had disappeared around the park and into a building, and with a deep breath she followed him in.


	2. I'm the Doctor

The building was completely abandoned—aside from the friendly exterior; the moment Lina entered the building she wanted to leave. There were dirty cement walls and rusty pipes lining the ceiling—it had that foreboding odor of old metal and yet she continued further into the building, glancing around corners for any type of activity.  
  
She suddenly found herself wishing she had worn something more practical that day instead of a pair of shorts and a tank top—the rusty metal was steaming and she was terrified she would burn herself should she accidentally brush up against one of them. Lina walked for what felt like a very long ten minutes before she finally heard a noise. She jerked behind her at the sound of a clatter and then a high-pitched squeal, and then she found herself heading toward the noise. The hallway was one she had previously passed and as she headed toward it she could make out a rather large room at the end of it.  
  
With a deep breath she walked through the doorway and for a moment saw nothing. Just lots of steaming pillars and the noise of machinery and for an instant she almost went to leave, sighing in defeat. Then a man came skidding from behind the large contraption in the center of the room, his hair askew and an odd glowing flashlight in his hand. But it wasn’t just any odd glowing flashlight, in fact it wasn’t a flashlight at all…it was a screwdriver, a sonic screwdriver; _his_ sonic screwdriver. Her heart nearly stopped as she watched the man point the screwdriver at the contraption and mutter nonsensically to himself. It was then that it clicked that this wasn’t just any man; it was _the_ man…the man of her dreams. The Doctor.  
  
It took every ounce of willpower she had not to cry out and run to him. He didn’t know her yet. He didn’t know her at all but he would. And then the worst thought possible occurred to her. If she left now the end that she had seen so many times—the end she saw when she wasn’t watching his amazing adventures, would never come to pass. But if she walked out now all the adventures they could have, in between that tragic ending never would happen either. She didn’t know which ending was worse.  
  
“Oh! Hello. Sorry, didn’t see you there,” he said and Lina blinked out of her daze to focus on the disheveled man. He took a clumsy step toward her a slight smile on his lips as his eyes flicked around looking for something she wasn’t sure of. “Um, who are you?” he said with another step towards her.  
  
“Lina,” she said, barely getting the word out. She was so sure it was him but at the same she _couldn’t_ be sure, not until he said his name. “Lina Anderson. And you are?”  
  
At this he seemed to straighten up and his hesitant smile was briefly very real as he clasped his hands together and almost seemed to present himself to her. “I’m the Doctor!”

 


	3. An egg!  A very large, rusty egg!

It was him. For some reason in that instant Lina felt as if she were in her dream world and her heart felt as though it were swelling in her chest; about to explode. The Doctor was here. The Doctor was very real and he was standing right in front of her. It was strange though that he was here and she had no idea he would be. She’d dreamed of him all her life; she knew all of his stories—but perhaps none of her own. She had assumed that since she saw the ending of her story she would see all the rest.  
  
The Doctor offered her that adorable smile before whirling around, almost like a very clumsy ballerina and returned to the rusty, steaming boiler. The familiar whirring sound of his sonic screwdriver sounded up and almost in a daze Lina walked to him.  
  
“What are you doing to that boiler?” she asked, feeling as if she had been directly inserted into one of her dreams. The Doctor’s mouth was popped open as he concentrated, his hair falling in his eyes and his bowtie slightly askew.  
  
“It’s not a boiler,” he said. “It only _looks_ like a boiler.” He backed away then staring up at the boiler that was not a boiler before scratching the back of his head as he considered. “It’s an egg.”  
  
“An egg?” Lina repeated, feeling even more dazed and confused. It didn’t look anything like an egg. In fact, it looked just like a steaming rusty boiler. There were several cracks near the top of it where steam poured freely. But that couldn’t be an egg could it? “That’s an awfully large egg.”  
  
“Of course it is! It’s a Lazaraks’ egg; they are awfully large creatures…at first.” The Doctor’s ecstatic expression faded only slightly as he scratched the back of his neck. “This is going to be a _very_ large hatchling.” As The Doctor glanced around he frowned. “My question is where its mother is?”  
  
Lina remained silent as the Doctor rambled on. He had begun pacing the egg, keeping a safe distance from it but Lina found herself travelling closer. She still couldn’t wrap her head around that this enormous object was an egg and yet she’d seen things much more remarkable than this in her dreams.  
  
Almost as if on cue a loud, screech erupted from not too far away and Lina turned to find that her hand was resting gently on the shell of the egg. Her eyes widened at the fact that the steam did not burn her—the egg was warm, however, but it was almost as though the steam had separated for her touch. The screech sounded again and Lina yanked her hand away, glancing down at the uninjured skin before clutching it to her chest. Suddenly the Doctor’s hands were gripping her shoulders and pulling her away from the egg, as soon as she was far enough away he had her hand in both of his. “You touched it and it didn’t burn you?” he said, holding her palm close to his eyes as he examined the perfectly un-blistered flesh. Lina merely nodded before the screech went off again. “That would be the daddy,” he whispered excitedly before grabbing Lina’s wrist and tugging her away behind the doorway.  
  
“How do you know that’s the dad?” Lina whispered, as the Doctor kept his arm across her stomach, to keep her behind him.  
  
“The female Lazaraks’ are silent,” The Doctor explained as he peered around the door. “Oh, he is stunning,” he whispered as the father Lazarak appeared around the corner. It looked very much like a skeleton with blue flesh pulled as closely as possible to its bones, though its face was merely two large black eyes and a long mouth full of razor sharp teeth.  
  
“Yeah, stunning,” Lina whispered, her eyes wide at the terrifying creature before her that seemed to now be crooning over the giant egg.  
  
“He’s singing it a lullaby,” The Doctor whispered though the sound emitting from the Lazarak sounded the farthest thing from soothing. The Doctor retrieved his arm from around Lina’s waist and brought it to wrap around the doorframe as he eagerly watched the father Lazarak sing to his unhatched egg.  
  
“How do you know?” Lina whispered, her heart still pounding from a mixture of the terrifying Lazarak before her and the fact that The Doctor was here in front of her. If she just reached out she could actually touch him and he wouldn’t turn to smoke like in her dreams.  
  
“I speak Lazarak.”  
  
“Of course,” she whispered, closing her eyes. She’d heard this line a thousand times. “You speak everything.” The Doctor looked at her sharply then, before frowning and nodding slightly.  
  
“Right. I speak everything. How do you know that?” The Doctor was then very close to her, inspecting her and she swallowed thickly waiting for him to figure out what was impossible to figure out. But just as she was about to open her mouth and spit out the worst possible excuse the monster let out another screech. “Time to go!”  
  


By the time they finally stopped running they came to a halt in the middle of the park she had first seen him. The Doctor was leaning against a pole, panting and pointing dizzily in the direction they had come. “Protective papa,” he mumbled as Lina simply stared. The pole he was leaning against was actually not a pole at all, it was a box. A blue box—a blue police telephone box. She knew it well and she knew it was more than just a big blue box. It was the TARDIS. But he couldn’t know that she knew that—at least not yet.

“Why the hell is a telephone box from _London_ doing in Milwaukee?” Lina whispered as the exasperated Doctor looked at her.

“There’s a Lazarak alien trying to eat us and you’re concerned about a big blue box?” The Doctor said shaking his head, before pulling a key from his inner coat pocket and unlocking the door. “Shall we take a peek inside?” he said with a wink before opening the doors wide and ushering her in.

Lina’s heart was beating rapidly as she stepped inside, her eyes burning as she pushed back tears of joy. After fifteen years of dreaming of this place here it was. “Go ahead. Say it. I’ve heard them all.” The Doctor said behind her as she trailed her fingers along the railings and then the console.

“You’re just as beautiful as I dreamed,” she whispered hoping only the TARDIS could hear her. She turned to face the Doctor, a wide smile spread across her face and she said the words she knew he was waiting to hear. “It’s bigger on the inside.”

“Yes, I suppose it is,” he said and there was that suspicious look again as he closed the distance between Lina and himself. In a moment he had her pinned against the console, his hands on either side of her hips as he examined her face—he stepped away, but refused to keep his distance. “But you already knew that didn’t you? You walked in here like you’ve been here before; like you’ve been here a hundred, thousand times before; almost like you’ve been here just as much as I’ve been here.” Lina swallowed thickly, praying that something would save her like the last time. “Who are you?”

“I’m…I’m Lina,” was all she was able to get out before the TARDIS started whirring. The Doctor looked unsurprised by this and Lina realized that when he had her pinned he must’ve also been flipping switches in order to get the TARDIS moving. “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to find the mother,” he murmured, stepping away from her his expression not as excited with her as before. “We’re going to find the mother and then you’re going to tell me exactly who you are, Lina Anderson.”

Lina swallowed once more, her stomach churning at the thought of telling this man that he was essentially her dream guy. She had only dreamed of him every night for fifteen years and she knew so much about him—even things he had maybe forgotten. How on earth was she supposed to tell that to him?

“How do you know where the mother is?” Lina said suddenly. The Doctor looked at her, that goofy smile slightly returning.

“It’s on your hand,” he explained and Lina glanced down only to find the familiar lines of her palm. “The reason you were able to touch that egg unharmed is because the creature hatching inside of it was yearning for a mother’s touch. You may not be a mother but you are a woman and you are capable of bearing children and the baby Lazarak recognized that. That egg has a genetic code linked specifically to the mother Lazarak…and that genetic code is now etched into your hand.” Lina glanced down at her hand and watched as the Doctor held his hand out to her; without the slightest hesitation Lina placed her hand in his. “This may or may not hurt,” he explained and without warning pressed her hand against the console.

At first there was a slight tingling sensation and then she felt the burning that should’ve been there before when she first touched the egg. She cried out, biting her lip immediately after in the hopes to hold back her yowls. Hot tears dripped down her cheeks and she could hardly hear the Doctor’s apologies as the protection of the Lazarak mother’s genetic code slowly faded away. When she pulled her hand back it was that sort of icy hotness and her skin was white from the burns.

The Doctor pressed and pulled a few more levers before coming to Lina’s side and taking her injured hand. “I’m sorry, Lina. I didn’t realize it would strip away the protection…I just thought it would…copy it.” Lina didn’t speak because the TARDIS was still whirring but it was also making a different noise. A sort of shimmering sound and when she glanced at the console she saw the same regenerative glow that she’d seen on the Doctor ten times before. “What?” he whispered as he watched that orange glow wrap around her injured hand—it felt almost as if the TARDIS were giving her a hug, welcoming her and letting her know that those dreams were not just dreams…they were gifts.

Just as the Doctor was about to say something and Lina looked at her newly healed hand they were thrown into each other as the TARDIS tumbled through space in search of the Lazarak mother. Lina grabbed onto one of the railings while the Doctor simply allowed the TARDIS to throw him around and he continued to stumble into her muttering ‘sorry’ every time.

When the TARDIS finally stopped Lina was on the ground and the Doctor was in an odd twisted position as he tried to hold himself up on the console. Lina simply blew a strand of hair out of her face before forcing herself to stand. “Let’s go find momma?” she asked as the Doctor followed her lead and gave her a friendly wink before striding to the door and wrenching it open as dramatically as before.

“What do you think will happen once we bring them together?” Lina asked as they came out to find themselves on a beach. The Doctor walked as though he knew exactly where he was going so Lina simply followed him without question.

“I imagine they’ll return home. They only came here to find her. Lazaraks are a lot like…penguins,” he said fumbling to find something that Lina would understand. “The mother has the egg and leaves it with the father to protect while the mother goes off to do battle or whatever it is that the lady penguins do. This particular female was on some type of journey when she crash landed here and papa Lazarak came to find her.”

“That’s sweet,” Lina said. “That he would travel all this way just to find his wife.”

“Mate. They prefer the term mate.” The two continued along before coming upon something that looked very much like the Lazarak egg except this was completely silver and very shiny. “Ah! Here we go.” The Doctor jogged over to the silver egg before pausing. “Oh no…oh no, no, no.”

“What is it, Doctor?” Lina asked as the Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and pointed it at the space egg.

“This is very, very bad. This is very not good.”

“ _What_?” Lina yelled before the Doctor finally turned to face her.

“I was…wrong. That wasn’t an egg that was a spaceship. A very old spaceship—and this was the male Lazarak’s ship…he’s come to wake up whatever was in that old, rusty one.”

“I thought you said that he was singing a lullaby! Doesn’t that normally keep things asleep?”

“It might have been a lullaby…for waking things up. A wakeaby!” The Doctor chuckled before realizing this was no chuckling matter. “Right, we need to go. We need to get that ship out of here before he wakes her up!”

_To be continued…_


	4. Happy Endings for Everyone!

Quite literally minutes after the Doctor and Lina had discovered how terribly wrong they had been they were in the TARDIS spinning through space. Once again they were being thrown carelessly around the spaceship until it came screeching to a halt. Lina felt as though she were going to vomit and the Doctor stood and straightened his tie like this was something he did every day—which it was.  
  
The Doctor walked out of the TARDIS with Lina close behind him, both glancing wearily around the same rusty room they had first met in. It was strange that all of this had happened in less than an hour and somehow Lina felt as though it had been an entire day. She felt as though she was attached to the Doctor in this and in everything else and she wondered if perhaps that was the way the rest of his companions had thought before they agreed to run away with him. But she knew that none of them could’ve guessed the heart break at the end of their trip—she wondered if they would’ve chosen differently had they known. _Traveling with the Doctor is worth the heart break._  
  
“Where is he?” she whispered upon discovering the spaceship, previously assumed to be a Lazarak’s egg, to be alone. The Doctor glanced around, pulling out his screwdriver and examining the rusty, steaming spaceship.  
  
“Gone, I suppose. That’s not really important right now…what’s important _right now_ is that this ship is opening.” When Lina glanced at him sharply he looked back with wide slightly terrified eyes but there was that bravery in them that would never subside. “Those cracks are the ships doors attempting to shove past this…rusty coating; the steam is from the effort. I think…I _believe_ I know why you were able to touch the egg without being burnt.”  
  
“I thought it was…I thought it was the child yearning for a mother’s touch,” Lina laughed feeling foolish when it had become clear that this was no longer the case. “What is it?”  
  
“She was yearning for a human touch…your touch is what will initially free her. This outer coating keeping her trapped inside is made up of material from _your_ home planet, and in order to relieve herself from it she needed the touch from a human to understand it.”  
  
“You were right there, why didn’t’ she just have _you_ touch it?” Lina said without thinking though she definitely knew the answer.  
  
The Doctor looked at her sharply then, “I’m not human.” was all he said before returning to scanning the egg. “The Genetic Coding however… well, remember when I said the Lazarak are like penguins? Well penguins mate for life—as do the Lazarak. The genetic coding was not hers but her partners—she’d been calling out to him, asking for help. So he came and now that they have the human touch all he needs to do is sing her awake—the wakeaby!—and…” the Doctor drifted off into silence as though he had forgotten the rest of his sentence.  
  
Lina simply stood in silence glancing down at her hand that had potentially started this whole mess. But in reality, it was her curiosity to follow the running man. She didn’t regret a second of it. Instead, she simply took a deep breath before taking a step toward the Doctor who was now pressing his ear to the side of the egg.  
  
“It’s not burning you?” she whispered, and took note of the discomfort on his face.  
  
“It’s still a bit warm, but no. It’s cooled down considerably. I think she’s finally woken up.” A sudden crash sounded and the Doctor was thrown away from the egg into Lina causing them both to tumble down to the ground. “Yes! Definitely awake!”  
  
Another crash and then a slab of the rust popped off and landed right in front of them. The Doctor let out a girl-like yell before standing and dragging Lina with him. In the span of a few moments several things happened. Lina and the Doctor sprinted across the room while the rusty coating on the egg-spaceship burst apart. As they ran and the egg exploded, the male Lazarak made his entrance his razor sharp mouth opening in a terrifying grin as he let out his screech. An identical silver-y looking space ship like the one they had found on the beach now stood in the center of the room.  
  
The steam all wrapped around what looked like a door until a bright light outlined it and it slowly opened. Lina and the Doctor held their breath as they watched another blue skeletal Lazarak stumble out her mouth not a dagger-like row of teeth like the males but simply a gaping hole. Her bug like eyes looked around, landing on the woman and the man in the tweed suit before landing on the male Lazarak.  
  
The male let out a short screech before almost frolicking toward her and wrapping his bony arms around her. She collapsed in them her beetle eyes blinking rapidly as thick, tar-like tears dripped from them. Lina glanced at the Doctor whose hands were clapped together and a watery smile was placed firmly on his face. “I always love happy endings,” he said and without another sound the reunited Lazarak couple went back into the spaceship.  
  


                                                                                                       

  
  
The Lazaraks had gone, presumably back home without another hitch. Lina was relieved it hadn’t been anything worse than a couple simply trying to reunite and go back home. She’d seen much worse endings in her dreams.  
  
The Doctor and Lina returned to the TARDIS’ doors before he turned to examine her, that familiar suspicious look on his face once more. Lina swallowed thickly, though this time she was ready. Or at least, she thought she was.  
  
“This is normally the part when I’m asked thousands of questions about who I am or _what_ I am. But something tells me you already know.”  
  
“You’re a Time Lord,” Lina answered quietly. She couldn’t make herself meet his eyes until something hit her and she found herself glaring heatedly at him. “But it’s not like you’ve never met someone who knew all about you. There have been plenty of people…River Song for example!”  
  
“River and I met out of sequence and she was special. This is something different. _You_ are something different. The fact that you even know about River Song concerns me. So I will ask you one more time Lina. Who _are_ you?” She’d seen the Doctor with this kind of fierceness before and she knew there was no way she could escape answering him. So she simply swallowed thickly and told him.  
  
“I don’t know. All I know is my name is Lina Anderson and ever since I was eight years old I’ve had dreams about a man called the Doctor. Not a man…a Time Lord. I’ve dreamed of him for fifteen years and I’ve watched him do incredible and terrible things. He’s saved countless lives and has made me…want to meet him ever since I was a child. I’m sorry. I knew I would meet you one day, I dreamt it…”  
  
The Doctor was quiet for a very long time, his face going from disbelief to amazement to pure adoration. He reached forward and touched Lina’s cheek with a small smile. “I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t special before, Lina. Here you are, Lina Anderson. The girl who dreamed. Well, I’m about to make your dreams come true.”  
  
Lina didn’t realize she was crying until she let out a sort of sob-laugh, and wiped anxiously at her eyes. “Can I come with you then?” she whispered and realized that the answer she’d been struggling with ever since she had that one horrible nightmare was finally answered. The Doctor was worth the heart break.  
  
“Let me show you the stars, Lina Anderson.”


	5. It's Called Historia!

The family huddled close together having only the tattered remains of old quilts and each other for warmth and comfort. The elder man glanced down at his family, his son and daughter-in-law with their arms wrapped tightly around their two children. He was almost in disgust to see how bare his two grandchildren’s skin was. By now they should’ve been covered with words and knowledge—they must’ve been the only two Historians in the world to be without ink. He closed his eyes, peaking out the window at the empty streets above.  
  
He had already lost Marthal, he didn’t know if he could bear to lose Klopa or the others. The past few months had been remarkably kind to this family all things considered. When the creatures arrived from the sky and began murdering Historians on the street and invading their vast libraries he and his family managed to hide away in his old bunker. Studying World War II from Earth History had given him great paranoia and he wished to be prepared should anything ever happen. Those who had laughed at him then would’ve been begging him for safe voyage now. But he imagined they were dead as well.  
  
“Father, I’m hungry,” came the voice of Sheena—the youngest of his son’s children. His son sighed, placing his hand on his daughter’s bare head, disgustingly empty of ink.  
  
“I’m sorry, Sheena. It’s too dangerous to go outside now. You _know_ that.” Sheena sighed, placing her head against her father’s shoulder. The old man looked out the window once more, seeing how empty the street was. The creatures that had taken over their home didn’t need to eat so he knew there must be food out there. Who else would take it?  
  
“I’ll go get the children food,” the old man said turning from the window and looking at the huddled, miserable family. “The streets are bare, perhaps they are sleeping.” He knew the words were foolish but he would rather have died trying to save his family than hiding like a coward. So without accepting a word from his son he turned to walk out the door.  
  
He hardly made it to the main road however when he saw it. The creature rolled out in front of him and the old man felt his heart lift in his throat. So this was it. The end.  
  
“Well then come on,” growled the old man, rolling his sleeves up and baring his ink to the destroyer of his home.  
  
“Ex…ter…mi…nate!”  
  


  
  
This time Lina was fully prepared. She wouldn’t be caught in a boiler in nothing but shorts and a tank top. This time she wore pants and a jacket and the Doctor was giving her a curious look as she constantly was adjusting herself. She couldn’t deny that she wasn’t nervous. She was in the TARDIS with the man she had dreamed about all her life. She knew so much about him and yet she didn’t know how to speak with him.  
  
He was leaning against the console, his arms crossed and a small smile on his face. His hair was floppy and in his face and she wanted to touch it to make sure it was real. Finally, she stopped fidgeting and stood up, walking to join him by the console. His eyes followed her and she wasn’t sure if he was just as curious about her or if he still wasn’t sure if he could trust her.  
  
“So where are we going?” Lina finally asked, glancing at the dials on the TARDIS. She was almost positive that she would be able to drive it; she had watched him use the controls so often. The Doctor smiled before turning to face her.  
  
“Somewhere…new,” was all he said and he couldn’t help the smile at Lina’s puzzled expression. “Well if you’ve been dreaming of me you’ve already seen everywhere that I’ve been. So let’s go somewhere that even I have never been.”  
  
“I’d still like to _see_ the places you’ve been. It’s not the same watching it through a dream,” Lina murmured and shifted uncomfortably in the silence that passed. “Where is this place that we’re going then?”  
  
“It’s called Historia!” he said with a sudden giddiness. “My father used to tell me stories of Historia. The Historians study the history of everything on every planet ever. And they quite literally absorb the knowledge into their skin. It’s all quite fascinating,” he said, sounding more and more childlike as he explained.  
  
Lina could hardly contain her smile as the Doctor rambled on about this place that he had only heard stories of. The TARDIS jerked suddenly as they were pulled into the orbit of Historia; Lina stumbled and once more fell into the Doctor. He simply steadied her and cried out as they tumbled through space into Historia.  
  
A moment later and the TARDIS jolted to a stop causing both Lina and the Doctor to fall apart. The Doctor landed against the TARDIS console and Lina completely fell on her rear. She watched as the Doctor’s eyes darted around as he waited for any sign—what kind of sign she wasn’t sure of but clearly it did or didn’t come because the Doctor shoved himself away from the console. He came to help Lina stand and then they were running to the door.  
  
They stepped outside however and came face to face with a man—though this man had an expression of supreme terror on his face. Both the Doctor and Lina glanced around confused. The streets were completely vacant—no living creature aside from the man in front of them. Lina noticed, however, that this man had brown ink covering his wrinkled skin. There was hardly an inch of him that did not have some jammed sort of scribble.  
  
“I do believe I owe you a grand thank you,” the man said, stepping forward. “You just saved my life.”  
  
The Doctor stepped forward and Lina didn’t miss the look of extreme disappointment on his face. Lina followed closely behind him, peering around his shoulder at the man with the ink covering his skin. “Save it from what?” the Doctor said, his brow furrowing as he searched the old man’s face.  
  
“Why, the Daleks of course.” Lina’s heart dropped in her stomach. The prospect of actually coming face to face with a real Dalek was horrifying. She’d been terrified enough of them in her dreams, always waking in a cold sweat.  
  
“Oh no…” the Doctor murmured. “No, no, no…”  
  
“Come! Quickly sir, we must get to safety before more of them find us,” the old man said before ushering the two to follow them. The Doctor grabbed Lina’s wrist before dragging her along after the old man. He continued rambling on but neither was listening because the Doctor was whispering urgently in Lina’s ear.  
  
“I assume you know what the Daleks are and how dangerous they are?” he said and Lina nodded. “Good…that’s good.” They arrived at a hole in one of the brick walls, thin enough for all three of them to squeeze through one by one.  
  
It was a small bunker like house, complete with four cots, a couch and a bookshelf with an array of frayed and torn books. In the corner of the room sat four others—a man and a woman and two children. Lina noticed that all of them were bald but only the man and woman had ink on their skin. “Oh my god, papa! You found other survivors!” the woman said suddenly standing and running to embrace Lina and the Doctor. “We thought we were the only ones left…” she pulled away before looking at their skin and frowning. “You are not Historian…are you?”  
  
“No. I’m Time Lord, she’s human,” the Doctor said with a grin. “But you are beautiful,” he said, the woman’s hand still in his and he brought it close to his eyes before examining the scrawl there. “Ah, this is Tulfurian history isn’t it?” The woman nodded, her bright eyes staring incredibly at the Doctor.  
  
“My husband, Klopa studied Gallifrey. He knows all about your people, Time Lord.” The Doctor smiled sadly before dropping her hand.  
  
“Not all about them, I’m afraid,” he murmured. “Now!” he clapped his hand and whirled around looking at the children and at the husband still huddled on the floor. “Let’s have a sit down. Tell me _everything_.”  
  
Klopa, and his two children came to huddle on the couch instead of the ground. Lina found herself sitting on a stool as the Doctor leaned against the bookshelf. “But who are you?” Klopa said, gazing at the Time Lord. No doubt, he was fascinated. He had studied his people his whole life but this man before him was so unfamiliar.  
  
“I’m the Doctor. This is Lina. We’re here to save you. Any questions?”  
  


  
  
“The Daleks invaded a year ago, just after the stars began fading and then brightening. Honestly Doctor, there’s not much to tell. I grabbed Klopa and his family and hid them away down here. We had enough food to last until then but we don’t know if anyone has survived. They started killing people on the streets without question. You see, we are a peaceful people—we do not have weapons just knowledge. There was nothing for us to do.”  
  
“So you hid and let the Daleks slaughter your people,” the Doctor spat, turning to glare at the old man.  
  
“At the time it seemed a better idea than letting them kill my family—they’d already killed my wife,” he growled and the Doctor’s face softened ever so slightly. “Tell me your names,” the Doctor said.  
  
“I am Morth. My son Klopa, his wife Klove, and their children, Sheena and Sheev.”  
  
“Well Morth, it is very possible you and your family are the last of the Historians. But before I save you I’m going to do everything in my power to save Historia—and the other Historians that may have survived. What do you say to that?”  
  


_To be continued…_

 

 


	6. A Library of Earth

Lina had her back pressed against one of the cracked linoleum walls of the main Earth library. Her heart was pounding in her throat and she could hear the Daleks speaking amongst themselves but her heart was so loud that she could hardly understand what they were saying. She knew that she had to move soon but she almost felt frozen to the spot. The Doctor had given her specific instructions on what to do and she knew he thought that the Daleks would all be after him but still there were stragglers.  
  
Morth and the others had refused to come with them—though the children wanted to help if there was anyone else to save, the Doctor had refused. She could see the strain it took for him to not spit at this family of stowaways but with a heavy sigh he turned and strode away from the bunker home.  
  
Now here they were. The Earth library had been the one in the center of town and perhaps it was because it had the most to tell—but this was the Daleks hideaway. She had seen the Daleks try time and time again to overtake Earth in her dreams and every time the Doctor was the one to stop them.  
  
Now they had the whole of human history in the palm of their hands and who knew how long they had to absorb it as the Historians did. This could potentially be the downfall of Earth and the Doctor knew that he had no choice but to destroy them. As they had crept around the library discovering that there were Historians being kept in rooms below, the Doctor had told Lina to go and to free them and promised he would follow close behind.  
  
Finally, Lina had found the rooms the Daleks had discussed and pressing her ear against the door she heard hushed murmurs behind it. She let out a sigh of relief before tugging on the door, only to find it was locked. She was about to turn and run to the Doctor before realizing that the door was wood and his sonic screwdriver would be of no use here.  
  
“Crap,” she muttered, glancing around the hallway. It was filled with bookshelves and dusty novels—she was remarkably reminded of the Library. The planet she had seen the Doctor go to when he was much younger, and she found herself sighing regrettably at the memory that was not her own. There was nothing here. Nothing she could do to knock the door down unless…  
  
She glanced at the doorknob before crouching down and seeing a lock beneath it. True they were on a totally different planet but could it be that the library of Earth had Earth-like locks? She chewed on the side of her lip as she considered and realized that it couldn’t hurt to try, so she removed two of the bobby pins she had used to clip back her hair and with a deep breath began picking the lock.  
  


  
  
The Doctor watched Lina run off with a pang of remorse. One of the things she had to have known about the Doctor was that he lies. So when he promised her he’d be right behind her and she turned to find he was nowhere in sight, she would know that he had once again lied.  
  
There was still such an air of mystery surrounding Lina but he had no doubt that she was no threat to him. A girl with dreams of him must’ve been a girl with quite a damaged mind and he found himself wanting nothing more than to help her. He didn’t know how but he would solve the mystery of Lina Anderson. He snapped out of his thoughts of the blonde girl before peeking around the corner and finding that the Daleks had disappeared as he had expected.  
  
Curiosity had gotten the better of him as he and Lina had spied on the Daleks. She had remained utterly silent and he knew that she truly did know just how dangerous these creatures were—but he couldn’t help but notice she walked without hesitance behind him. She feared the Daleks but felt without a doubt that the Doctor would protect her from them and he wanted nothing more than to prove her right.  
  
Something he had noticed on the Daleks was bothering him however. Each one had thousands of scribbled markings on them—what he had originally thought was just dust coating their bodies was actually words. The Daleks were absorbing the knowledge just as the books had and he knew now why they were keeping those Historians alive below. Still, he had the advantage.  
  
The Dalek version of his old friend, Clara, had done him a great favor in erasing him from the Dalek’s database. So now when he stepped into the center of the Roman section of the Earth library and sprinted in the direction the Daleks went he knew they would know nothing of him.  
  
He dodged around corners and dusty bookshelves like a very clumsy ballerina until he finally found them buzzing and chatting excitedly—or rather as excited as a Dalek could be. “We are almost ready to begin,” one said in that metallic chime the Doctor was painfully familiar with. He shuddered before taking a deep breath, constantly reminding himself of his advantage.  
  
Instead of actually announcing himself he simply whirled around the corner before strolling in on them mid-conversation. He grabbed one of the books off the shelf before opening it and glancing down at the scrawled words, as he read he almost expected the words to fall off the page and drip into his skin but it remained where it was. He glanced up as the Daleks began chattering angrily and turned to face him, “Identify yourself! Identify yourself!”  
  
He couldn’t help but smile to himself, it was so good not to hear—“This man is the Doctor! Enemy to the Daleks!” came a voice from behind him and the Doctor froze, frowning and turning around.  
  
“How do you know that?” he said, squinting at the Dalek that rolled before him. This one was golden with words that looked terrifyingly familiar and then when he realized why. The words were Gallifreyan.  
  
“I know all that there is to know about the Time Lords—especially the Doctor!”  
  


_**To be continued...** _


	7. History of the Daleks

Lina could already tell she would be covered in bruises from her insistent ramming against the surprisingly thick wooden door. She was out of breath and a light sheen of sweat now coated her forehead. But just as she was pressing herself as far back as the small hallway would allow so she could take another running start to ram herself into the door with full impact, it opened. Instead of smashing into the door, she smashed into a group of Historians and they all went tumbling down like bowling pins.  
  
As she struggled to upright herself she turned and saw the open doorway, her eyes wide as she then looked back at the sprawled Historians. “Did I do that?” They ignored her and simply stood up all of them huddling together, presumably thinking the Daleks had come up with another form of torture for them. “It’s alright,” Lina whispered with a tentative smile. “My name is Lina. I’m here to…rescue you.” As she spoke she smiled with a sort of gleam feeling like a knight in shining armor. She imagined this must be what the Doctor felt like all the time.  
  
“Are the Daleks gone?” came a voice from the back and Lina glanced around to see a frail, bald woman glancing around. Her eyes were bright like diamonds and Lina noticed suddenly that the ink that covered her skin was now leaking into the whites of her eyes as well.  
  
“No, but I’m not alone. There’s another man here with me…his name is the Doctor and he’s going to save us all,” she said with a smile. Finally she was able to say those words without sounding insane. She saw the same resistance in the Historian’s eyes as she saw in Morth and the others—but she prayed that they would listen and follow her. “Listen, you can either stay here and let the Daleks do whatever they’ve been doing to you….or you can come with me and go somewhere safe.”  
  
Almost immediately the Historians began crowding around Lina, ready for her to lead them to safety. Immediately she led them the way she remembered the exit to be, all of them on her heels as silent as possible. She paused for a moment then before glancing behind her at the group of terrified people. “Are you all there is? Is there anyone else here?”  
  
“As far as we know they’d been keeping us all in the Earth library. They made us study every book in Earth and then feed our ink to the other Daleks—that’s why the ink is so faded,” the bright eyed woman said, looking at her own skin sadly. Lina noticed that the ink was indeed faded.  
  
“But they kept you all in the same room?” Lina hissed, her eyes darting around frantically until they landed on a scene she wish they hadn’t. The Doctor was surrounded by Daleks—one was facing him directly and the Doctor looked angry.  
  
“We don’t know,” came another voice. “There were others but some didn’t come back.” Lina nodded, her eyes never straying from the Doctor.  
  
“This is your planet, your library. You know where the exit is right?” As they all nodded she gave them strict instructions on getting out and where to go, while Morth and his family were too terrified to go out and help they were more than willing to open up their home to those that were saved. Lina waited until the Historians were out of her sight before turning to face the Doctor and the Daleks.  
  
There were five Daleks, one Doctor and only one of her. What could she do? She had no clue how to fight a Dalek let alone kill one—but how could she save the Doctor? It was almost like he had heard her thoughts because his eyes met hers and she nearly gasped but simply stood her ground. He gave her a meaningful stare his eyes flicking to the right of her and she followed his lead.  
  
“So if a Dalek can absorb the words of Gallifrey…if a Dalek can absorb the history of Earth, what do they plan to do with it?” The Doctor asked, his eyes flicking between the Dalek in front of him and Lina.  
  
“Nothing,” came the Dalek’s metallic voice and both Lina and the Doctor froze. “The Daleks took control of Historia with the intention of learning all planets weaknesses. We did not realize that so much history contained so much…emotion,” it said, seeming to tremble with its words. It was strange listening to a Dalek speak this way and Lina nearly burst out with a question but bit her tongue to keep her mouth shut.  
  
“Then why keep the Historians prisoner? What do you want with this planet?” the Doctor spat and one of the Daleks rolled up to him.  
  
“To make it our home. To learn.”  
  
“And what about the rest of the Historians? Do you plan on just killing the rest of them as well?” Lina’s heart was pounding in her throat as she took a slight step back and found herself pressed against one of the dusty bookshelves.  
  
“The Historian race provides us with the ability to absorb their knowledge. They will stay and continue to provide this knowledge,” the Dalek said and the Doctor’s face grew even more angry.  
  
“You never learn do you? The Historians’ are not your slaves. What you are doing to them is killing them—absorbing their words is like sucking out their souls. If you truly understood what you think you understood you would leave this planet and its people in peace.” There was a horrible silence then as Lina continued to try and be silent and the Doctor waited for the Daleks to answer.  
  
He met Lina’s eyes once more and she tried desperately to scream the words at him telepathically. We need to get out of here, now. She honestly could see no option. The Daleks had no plans to leave Historia and the only option was to destroy the planet. She hated the thought of it but there was no other choice. She knew that the Daleks would not leave peacefully. She could see in the Doctor’s eyes that he knew this too.  
  
“How many Historians have you enslaved? How many are still alive?” he asked, speaking aloud the question that Lina needed to know the most.  
  
“There used to be hundreds. We destroyed the resistant ones and enslaved the rest. They too have drained away as we absorbed their knowledge. There are only ten of these creatures left,” the Dalek who stood in front of him said. Lina was almost certain that the Doctor felt as crushed as she did at this information.  
  
“An entire race wiped out by the likes of you. One of the most peaceful and beautiful races killed by the Daleks. I’ve never felt more justified in my decision,” he growled before storming past the Daleks and grabbing Lina’s wrist. “Run,” was all he whispered before he took off with her arm in his hand.  
  
As they were running they could hear the Dalek’s gradually begin getting louder. The Doctor had removed his sonic screwdriver from his pocket before pointing it at what appeared to be thin air. “What are you doing?” Lina cried, breathless.  
  
“I’m sending sonic waves to the TARDIS reprogramming her to park in Morth’s bunker! That way we can get everyone out safely!” The two continued sprinting down the empty streets of Historia until they reached the familiar crack in the wall of Morth’s bunker.  
  
Lina squeezed in and then the Doctor followed both with their chests heaving from exertion until they finally stumbled into the living room. The ten Historian’s that Lina had saved were all smooshed uncomfortably in the living room, and now the TARDIS was taking up even more room.  
  
“Right! Everyone’s here. Come along, into the TARDIS.” The Doctor whipped out his key, fumbled a bit before opening the door and nearly shoved everyone inside. After he followed, slamming the door shut behind him before sprinting to the console. “Right, yes, I know. Bigger on the inside, I’m going to destroy Historia. Let’s get to it.”  
  
Lina stood by the door, watching as the Historian’s gazed around the TARDIS in wonder, none looked even remotely sorry that the Doctor had just told them he was going to blow up their home. They must’ve considered this place as much a home as a prison—and more than likely that was what it had become to them. A jail cell.  
  
She couldn’t help but feel awful. This place must’ve been so beautiful once with its massive libraries, sectioned by planet. There was so much knowledge here and suddenly she had the perfect idea. The Doctor was furiously pressing buttons and then he looked up and stared straight ahead, emotionless. When she followed his gaze she knew why. Historia was on fire.  
  
The words she had been ready to say died on her lips and she reached over to place her hand over the Doctor’s. She realized that even the Historian’s had been watching as Historia burned alive. She caught sight of Klove and Klopa pressed together, tears in their eyes as their home was killed.  
  
“I know where we can take them,” she whispered. The Doctor looked at her with a lifted eyebrow and she smiled sheepishly. “The Vashta Nerada has bound to move on by now, considering there’s nothing left for them to eat so maybe we can take them to the Library!”  
  
The Doctor suddenly grinned wide before grabbing Lina on both sides of her face and pressing his lips to her forehead. “Brilliant, Lina. That’s beautiful.” Without another word the Doctor began flipping more switches on the console before they were being thrown once more through the vortex to arrive at The Library.  
  
“Alright Historians,” the Doctor said with much relish. “Welcome home,” he shoved past the group crowded around the door before wrenching it open. He glanced outside to find it swarming with people. He sighed in relief, so glad to realize that for once he hadn’t landed on a planet that needed saving—or at least not this time.  
  
The Historians ventured out each glancing around in wonder at the books around him. When the TARDIS was empty of Historians the Doctor glanced back at Lina with a smile on his face. Things may not have gone the way he had wanted but at least he was able to save someone—even if it was only a handful of people. “What do you say Lina? Should we stick around? Check out some books?”  
  
Lina smiled, a giggle bubbling on her throat. “Nah, I’ve had enough of these dusty old books. Why don’t we go dancing instead?”  
  
“I do like to dance,” he said with a smile. “I know just the place.”

 

 


	8. It's A Giant Disco Ball In The Sky!

Lina had been sitting Indian style on the floor in the library, she had found a book that looked fairly interesting and was studying it intensely. She had absolutely no idea what she was reading and she was shocked she could even process the words but she wanted to learn as much as possible about the Doctor and even if this didn’t necessarily pertain to him, it obviously interested him. Her hair was up in a sloppy bun, bunched at the top of her head and she was in a pair of sweat pants and an over large long-sleeved shirt. She was so involved in the book that she didn’t even hear the Doctor walk into the room until he sat directly beside her.  
  
She nearly jumped out of her skin as she glanced over at him only to see him leaning curiously over her shoulder. His eyes briefly skimmed the words and then he sat back on the palms of his hands before smiling fondly at her. “Ah, the Germanian history—beautiful culture. A bit carnivorous for my taste, though,” he said. “What are you doing in here, Lina? Shouldn’t you be getting ready? We’re almost there you know?”  
  
“Almost where?” she said, heart still pounding from his sudden appearance.  
  
“To Alvaria of course!” This was one of the few moments that Lina had no idea what he was talking about. She had seen many things in her dreams but there was still much she didn’t know. She wondered what the boundaries of her dreams were—whether or not there was only specific things she could and couldn’t dream.  
  
“Alvaria?” she asked and blushed at the idiotic grin that lit up the Doctor’s face. It was a smile that screamed I know something you don’t know and she found herself playfully pushing his shoulder.  
  
“Put on something…dancey and then come and see,” he said before standing and twirling around. Lina sighed before standing up, putting the book of Germanian history back on the shelf and running to the wardrobe. The Doctor had clothes of all shapes and sizes and styles for presumably any species or gender—she didn’t ask how he had accumulated them all, she just was glad that there were things in her size.  
  
After much looking she found herself in a black sparkling peplum skirt dress that ended just above her knees. She threw on some black boots and then yanked the band from her hair, letting her blonde locks trail over her shoulders. A moment later she made her way to the console room of the TARDIS and found the Doctor leaned against the controls, staring at something intently on his little screen.  
  
Lina cleared her throat and he glanced around the screen and smiled upon seeing her. “Fantastic,” was all he said before flipping the screen around and skidding over to her side. He offered her his arm, which she eagerly accepted and the two strolled out the TARDIS doors into Alvaria.  
  
Immediately Lina’s eyes widened at the sight before her. The room was a giant reflective ball—and upon further inspection she found that it was literally a giant disco ball floating in outer space. Or that’s what it seemed to be to her. The room was filled with the sound of music she had never heard before but everyone was dancing to—there was not a soul standing still and when she glanced over her shoulder she saw the Doctor had actually disappeared into the crowd.  
  
There were streamers fluttering aimlessly around the room and glitter stuck to everyone’s skin, scales and feathers. As she looked around she saw impossibly tall green creatures and incredibly fat rhinoceros looking creatures—ones she actually recognized to be the Judoon. Upon realizing who they were though she thought of just how odd it was to see a Judoon dance, but she merely shrugged before continuing through the crowd.  
  
Before she knew it hours had passed and still she was dancing, sweat plastered to her skin, her hair pressed against her back in damp curls. She had only seen the Doctor a few times from a distance making weird gestures and spinning around like a little ballerina. Then as she spun around she nearly fell on top of a man with red skin. She gave out a startled cry and the man laughed deeply before helping her stand upright.  
  
“Watch out little ballerina. Wouldn’t want you to fall,” he said, his voice resonating through her bones. She simply stared at him for a moment wanting nothing more than to laugh. Here was a man with blood red skin, a black goatee in a white suit. If she didn’t know better she’d say she was talking to the devil.  
  
“Sorry,” she stuttered. “I’m a little clumsy.”  
  
“I can see that. What is your name, little ballerina?” he asked and she almost wanted to run from him.  
  
“It’s Lina. And you are?” The red man then looked deeply offended, placing his hand on his chest as though she had punched him. She noticed with slight amusement that his other hand was currently clutching a cocktail glass.  
  
“Don’t you know a celebrity when you see one? I’m Lucius Van Heickler—the creator of Alvaria!” he said, spreading his arms and spinning around the giant disco ball of a planet. “Did you think it had just popped into existence?”  
  
“Actually I hadn’t thought about it. This is my first time here, my friend brought me.” Lucius leaned closer, winking at her before touching her shoulder and laughing deeply once more.  
  
“What kind of a friend? Boyfriend? Girlfriend? A friend you want to be more than friends with?” he asked all this in one breath and then took a deep breath like he had hit the lottery before shoving lightly on her shoulder. “Oh! Is it the kind of friend that you secretly hate but keep hanging out with because they do things that are more fun than what your real friends do?”  
  
Lina opened her mouth completely at a loss of what to say. Lucius was staring at her with an expecting grin and then out of nowhere there was the Doctor, by her side and looking at Lucius with disdain. “Ah, Lucius,” he muttered.  
  
“Doctor,” Lucius said. “I see. That kind of friend.” Lucius looked up and down at both the Doctor and Lina before sniffing and turning to walk away.  
  
“What was that all about?” Lina asked.  
  
“Who cares?” The Doctor said, placing his arm around Lina. “We’ve got a bigger problem,” he muttered. Lina groaned before glancing at him in question. He gave her a weak smile. “Notice how no one has stopped dancing since we’ve arrived, or even have left?”  
  
“So what? We just got here a few hours ago. You said this place is a constant party!”  
  
“It is. But Lina, we’ve been here for three days.”  
  


**_To be continued…_ **

 

 


	9. The Rock Man and the Foxtrot

“ _Three days_?” Lina yelled her eyes wide as she stared at the Doctor. Throughout the entire conversation, neither had stopped moving. From a sideline watcher it might look quite humorous to see these two people with distressed expressions doing the cupid shuffle. “How is that possible?”  
  
“Well time flies when you’re having fun!” the Doctor said but he didn’t sound like he was having very much fun. Instead he simply scratched his head, glancing around the room at all the sweaty bodies. “You know that expression, the party that never sleeps? I don’t think that’s an expression—I think that we are at the party that never sleeps.”  
  
“But how could we have gone three days without sleeping?” Lina asked, still trying desperately to stop herself from line dancing with a blue alien. The Doctor was with a reptilian looking woman who also seemed to be having way too much fun—as he danced he seemed to be thinking very hard, glancing around the room.  
  
“Let’s dance to the TARDIS, come on,” he said, grabbing Lina’s hand and swinging her toward the blue box pressed into the corner of the room. The two twirled and two-stepped over to the TARDIS until they reached the door and the Doctor fumbled in his pockets for the key. “Aha!” he cried as he finally got a hold of it but was suddenly overcome with a ballerina-esque turn, which caused the key to fly from his hand. He tried to keep track of where he’d thrown it but he found himself turning and turning, doing things that he shouldn’t have been able to do unless he’d had extensive training, which Lina highly doubted. “Did you see where it went?” he cried, finally stopping his turning and began furiously punching the air. “These dance moves are ridiculous,” he grumbled, frowning down at himself.  
  
Lina was just swaying not doing much of anything unless she had random fits of claps and kicks. “I think it went over by that really tall…rock man,” she said staring up at a man who seemed to be made completely of stone and who was dressed in a velvet robe. The two then began forcing themselves in the direction of the rock man—it seemed this was about as much self-control either of them had.  
  
“Hello sir!” the Doctor called when they finally reached the giant rock man. He shifted, glancing down at them with a completely expressionless face. “It seems my key has fallen on your…foot,” he said glancing down. “Would you mind if I grabbed it?” The rock man simply made a few strange grunting noises before turning back to whatever it was he was doing. Lina stared at the rock man, curious as to how he was dancing but didn’t bother questioning it because the Doctor was shimmying to the ground and snagging the key from the rock man’s foot. He shouted a ‘thanks!’ before twirling back to the TARDIS with Lina.  
  
“I’m starting to get dizzy,” she grumbled as the Doctor did some weird hand dance and finally managed to get the key in the lock. He opened the door and did some Broadway tap dance number before bowing for Lina to get inside, she curtsied and cartwheeled in—then the Doctor spun his way inside before slamming the door. The music was instantly cut off and both Lina and the Doctor stopped dancing.  
  
Then the two collapsed.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I wrote about four years ago right after I had watched Doctor Who for the first time. (I haven't seen anything past the eleventh Doctor, whoops). This was one of my favorite stories to write and I hope you enjoy it!!


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